Dual Swivel Seats for Hunting Blinds

ABSTRACT

A dual swivel seat assembly has a single base support member that rotatably supports plural seats for rotation about a common vertical axis. The seats are rotatably supported by at least two swivel arms that rotatably connect the seats to the support member.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an arrangement for swivel chairs. Swivelchairs are frequently employed in environments where it is desirable toallow for freedom of movement of a person seated in a chair in severaldirections and orientations. Hunters, fishermen, dentists, workers inproduction facilities are examples of individuals who require seatingarrangements that provide a wide range of orientation.

2. Description of Related Art

Single swivel chairs that allow for quick movement in multipleorientations are known in the art such as those described in thefollowing U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,798,361; 1,484,229; and 4,979,458. A dualswivel seat arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,709,555 toOstertag. However, the arrangement in Ostertag does not allow for fullmovement of the two seats with respect to each other and includes onlyone swivel arm for each chair. Furthermore the first swivel arms are notmounted for rotation about the same vertical axis.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention disclosed herein overcomes the above noted deficiencies inthe art by providing for a single support member for two swivel chairsthat have first swivel arms that are mounted for rotation about a commonaxis. In environments such as a deer hunting blinds there are frequentlymore than one hunter seated. A deer hunting blind typically includes avery limited number of windows of small size and it is crucial to beable to move from one vantage point to another without interference fromanother person seated in the blind. This is especially important whenone of the individuals is instructing the other and needs to positionthemselves quickly to view what the student is seeing through the windowand vice versa. In addition to a pair of first swivel arms mounted forrotation about a common axis, each chair includes a second swivel armthat rotatably supports a chair thus allowing for a wide range ofmovement within the hunting blind and with respect to the other chairthat is mounted on the base support.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention showing the chairs in afirst configuration.

FIG. 2 is perspective view of the invention showing the chairs in asecond configuration.

FIG. 3 is a view of the various components of the support structure.

The drawings provided herein are meant to illustrate the principles ofthe invention in general terms and are not intended to limit theinvention to the specific details shown in the drawings. Also othershapes and sizes for the various structural members could be usedwithout departing from the invention, which is set forth in theaccompanying claims. Furthermore the drawings are not necessarily drawnto scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of the overall assembly of the dual swivelseats according to an embodiment of the invention. The assembly includesa main support member 20 which includes a plurality of L-shaped supportarms 2 which extend radially outwardly from a central tubular member 35shown in FIG. 3. Support arms 2 are provided with one or more apertures21 by which they may be secured to the floor of a hunting blind bysuitable fasteners. At their inner end support arms 2 are welded orotherwise secured to tubular member 35. A pair of first swivel arms 3are pivotally supported on a spindle 9 for rotation about a verticalaxis. In the embodiment shown a hollow spindle sleeve 8 is positioned atthe inner end of each swivel arm 2 and rotably fits over the spindle 9.The lower end of spindle 9 is secured within tubular member 35.

The other end of first swivel arms 3 are provided with a first tubularsleeve 5 that is adapted to receive a shaft 11 located at one end of thesecond swivel arm 4. The outer ends of second swivel arms 4 are alsoequipped with a second tubular socket member 6 that rotatably supports ashaft 34 shown in FIG. 3 connected to seat support plates 33.

The arrangement described above permits the seats to move about thehunting blind quickly and in a variety of orientations. FIG. 2 shows oneof the orientations that is achievable according to the invention. Amultitude of other orientations within the blind are possible.

FIG. 3 illustrates the details of various components of the supportassembly. The L-shaped support legs 2 are secured at their inner end toa hollow cylindrical tubular member 35 which is sized to receive thelower end of spindle 9 which may be a solid rod. Sleeve 8 of the firstswivel arm 3 rotatably fits over spindle 9. A needle bearing 31 with awasher is positioned between sleeve 8 and tubular member 35. A secondneedle bearing 31 is positioned on the rod between sleeve 8 and a setcollar 32 which is also positioned on the rod. A third needle bearing ispositioned between the set collar and sleeve 8 of the upper first swivelarm 3. A set collar 32 and a needle bearing 31 is provided on the midportion of shaft 11. The lower portion of shaft 11 is received withinsleeve member 5. A seat support shaft 34 is provided with a set collar32 and extends through sleeve 6 provided on the outer end of secondswivel arm 4. A needle bearing 31 is located on the seat support shaft34 between set collar 32 and sleeve 6. A seat support plate 33 issecured to the upper portion of support shaft 34. The second chair issupported in a manner similar to that of the first chair beginningwithin the second first swivel arm 3 shown on the top portion of spindle9 in FIG. 3.

The preceding description is intended to provide a detailed descriptionof an embodiment of the invention but is not intended to limit theinvention to the particular details disclosed. For example the mainsupport base can be configured in a number of ways and the variousswivel joints could be formed using several different swivelarrangements and bearings that are known in the art.

1. A dual swivel seat assembly comprising: a main support member; aplurality of first swivel arms; means for pivotally mounting the firstswivel arms about a single axis through the support member; a pluralityof second swivel arms; means for pivotally connecting an outer portionof the first swivel arms to an inner portion of the second swivel arms;a plurality of seats; and means for pivotally mounting the seats on anouter portion of the second swivel arms.
 2. A dual swivel seat assemblyas claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for pivotally mounting the firstswivel arms about a single axis through the support member comprises avertical mounted spindle and a spindle sleeve mounted on an inner end ofthe first swivel arms.
 3. A dual swivel seat assembly as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the means for pivotally connecting an outer portion ofthe first swivel arms an inner portion of the second swivel armcomprises a socket member on an outer end of the first swivel arm thatreceives a shaft located on the inner end of the second swivel arm.
 4. Adual swivel seat assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means forpivotally mounting the seats on an outer portion of the second swivelarms comprises a shaft extending downwardly from the seats and secondtubular socket member receiving the shaft located at an outer end of thesecond swivel arm.
 5. A dual swivel seat assembly as claimed in claim 2wherein a set collar is positioned on the spindle between the spindlesleeves of the first swivel arms and a pair of needle bearings arepositioned between the set collar and the spindle sleeves.
 6. A dualswivel seat assembly as claimed in claim 5 further including a thirdneedle bearing on the spindle sleeve between one of the first swivelarms and the main support member.